About Me

Early American Folk art and trades

20111126

Portrait of George Brown, one of the fathers of Canadian Confederation

This is an old oil on linen portrait I picked up at an auction for a buck. It was in deplorable condition and so dirty one had to look carefully to even see a face. A large gash bisected the upper left part of the face and many small areas had loose or flaking paint.

I carefully repaired the painting and remounted it onto canvas as the linen was badly deteriorated.
After numerous cleanings I sent it to my brother Bert, an accomplished artist who retouched all the damaged areas and the repaired gash.

The painting is signed 'T Barfoot'. The painting may have been done by an itinerant artist. Thus far I have not been able to find any information on the artist.